PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao while commenting on the federal budget, saying that the country’s economy was still in dire straits and expressed high optimism about early restoration of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s programme.

Speaking at a meeting of party office-bearers of Union Council Mandani and Harichand at Sherpao village on Saturday, he maintained that the IMF programme’s restoration was vital for the country as it was grappling with rising debt and other economic challenges. The QWP leader lauded the government for announcing the increase in the salary of its employees in the face of skyrocketing inflation, adding that this would give them some relief to cope with the backbreaking inflation.

Aftab Sherpao said the government had allocated insufficient funds for the merged districts in the budget. He asked the federal government to give the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa its due shares and release the arrears of the net hydel profit and the oil and gas royalty. He demanded that the federal government should announce the new National Finance Commission award as soon as possible and increase the shares of the smaller provinces.

Aftab Sherpao said the May 9 mayhem had shaken the security foundation of the country, calling for the strict punishment for the perpetrators of violence in accordance with the law. He demanded that the masterminds and the facilitators of the May 9 vandalism and arson attacks on the state buildings and military installations should be put in the dock. “The May 9 attacks were not an isolated occurrence rather the causes of the recent happenings could be traced back to the events that happened in 2014 wherein Imran Khan instigated his supporters to torch the electricity bills and send money from abroad through hundi and hawala business instead of using the banking channels,” the QWP leader recalled, adding that the PTI leader had provoked his followers to attack the Parliament House and the Pakistan Television Headquarters in Islamabad. “Had strict action been taken against the PTI people back then, they would not have dared to stage the civilian coup this time,” he noted with concern.

He said the PTI trained its workers at the Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence in the use of the petrol bombs and other sabotage activities to attack the government and army installations. “The May 9 vandalism was the continuation of the 2014 attacks on the state buildings,” he believed.

Aftab Sherpao said the country was passing through a critical phase of its history as political instability and anarchy had ruined the economy.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023